umbraldragon

I'm going to run "The Haunted" intro scenario for CoC 7th Edition Quick-Start supplement. Using Play by Post at Tavern Keeper. Just opened up a call for players there if you're interested. Tavern Keeper

In total agreement with you Matt_E.

This from the book (p.90,91): "Only one proactive action may be attempted per cycle." You may use more than one proactive action in a round, but only one per cycle.

I would go with "use as necessary," assuming that insight and conditioning of the Ki or "inner spirit/third eye" has produced a greater awareness of the future or perception of subtle changes in stance/movement/body language and the universe around them. Especially if you labeled them Action Points, not defense points or attack points. Just my take on that. Let them fight dammit! hehe...

The aforementioned "Stark Wars" supplement was an example of how to tweak the system to a particular style of game. Lots of notes in that. and it works....hehe.

Interesting take. You've shed light on character development. Mythras has so much to offer on different levels. I prefer character immersion when running with an experienced group of players. New players tend to lean towards third person references. I mercilessly steer them back, gently of course, but they start to enjoy themselves once they see everyone else get involved, stressing the need to play up passions and character connections. Thanks for the elegant reminder.

As a relative newcomer to RQ6/Mythras I just took Folk Magic as is. Magic for the common folk. Doesn't make them warriors or spellcasters per say. And maybe you only have one or two elders who know a few FM spells, but there is a usefulness to them.

I really like the Hex maps used in Age of Shadow. Lovely maps with hex overlay. For a Hex crawl/Wilderness Campaign it makes sense to me. Terrain maps with hex overlay for battle scenes makes measurements seamless.

I'd like to see something more done with Korantia, I love that setting - I added elves, orcs and savage halflings to the mix. I'm almost done with my Mythras version of Darksun, I left out the Half Giants for several reasons, using Prana for psionics as per Luther Arkwright. I also kind of made a patch for Star Frontiers using M-Space and Luther Arkwright, it felt seamless, we left the albedo screens as is and used the skills from M-space. Oh and a Mythras version of TMNT, leaned lot on Historia Rodentia and Luther Arkwright also patchwork, but again, worked like a charm. You're right, though. It would be nice to have all this work done for you ahead of time and in one nice bound book. Darksun and Star Frontiers I'd buy as soon as it was available. Thieve's World, Elder Scrolls, and First Law would def be on the list as well. Instead of Black Company (although much respect to Glen Cook!) how about Malazan? Perhaps a SciFi setting based on The Expanse? Gamma World? The great thing about Mythras is that it is flexible and well developed enough to handle anything you throw at it. Anything from Gothic Horror to High Fantasy to Historical settings. The more you play, the easier the game mechanics get. I'm at the point where I don't have to look up as many things in the book as I used to and so are my players. I even had one Convert from one of the other "pop" fantasy rpgs. She now sees the error of her...er...um...the advantages of playing Mythras over other game systems.

hehe, me too...:)

I have to agree with you Prime Evil. I am still relatively new to Runequest/Mythras being that I've only started to unravel it's many layers of depth since RQ6. The common tendency seems to me that even when the "popular" fantasy rpgs provide examples of Clerics/Priests, they're either draped in obvious cliché or the belief system is glossed over. It was a cool thing when I literally stumbled upon RQ6 and what stood out to me was an example that illustrated the interweaving of religion and culture: "In exchange for an oath of abstinence and faithful service, she [Kara] is inducted into the Cult of Myceras as an initiate. Much of her time is spent clearing up the mess produced by the incessant sacrificial offerings requested by the city’s warriors, yet during the evenings she is taught the ways of worship." It became evident to me at that point that belief was not just lip service for the people of the setting. Myceras was as real to the people as it was to the priests. In another passage, Kara sets a trap for thieves, turning one into a bull and sacrificing him to Myceras as an example of what happens to thieves trying to desecrate the new temple. As far as adult themes go, the level of violence, morality, sexual content, emotional content and graphic detail are elements determined in part by the GM and the Players. Although genre can have a hand in that, it can be a response to the events in a story. Take the Sword and Sorcery supplement "Spider God's Bride" as and example. Although there are many "adult" themes that run through the story line, it is up to the players and the gm to determine how graphic the descriptions get and also the level of immersion in game play. If you're running a game from scratch, then these elements are usually called "hooks" which is something I've not taken a liking to. I prefer motivations. Story building can get really interesting when the characters have an emotional investment in the campaign world and each other. That said, the level of drama is something to consider as well. My advice is this: if you know where the boundaries are, then it's an agreement between all involved as to what level of roleplay the game takes; if you don't know where the boundaries are, it's best to ask before hand so everyone has fun without making it unpleasant for someone else. Great topic. Happy gaming everyone.

Good work Belgath!

True, those Sathar are fairly nasty gits. And that's why you should carry extra seu packs!

Thanks Rod, I will look at these a bit closer later. My students really like the Classic Fantasy and Monster Island combination. They call it the Island of Death. LOL. It's like the next generation's Tomb of Horrors, but better. I was looking into Star Frontiers since it was the only "other" d100 system I had ever played.

you're right, I was thinking about a laser pistol which you can crank up to 10, but you can only do that once so most players use it one seu at a time. About the conversion I'm creating some pre made characters for play test. I'll post them here for anyone interested.

I have been playing RQ6 for about 2 years now, getting my high school students (college prep school) to learn it and play it, and run it. I now have Mythras, and sharing it with them also for about a month so far. They love the fact that it doesn't box you in like D&D and costs a lot less to get started. Some of them have taken on M-Space as well. Mythras is a great game for me and the groups I end up with (which usually are students with no experience with table top rpgs.) I know it's a complicated game, but once they learn it, all other games seem like a walk in the park. Also, there is a flexibility there they also like, which is one of it's strengths. I was surprised when they came up with a Mythras version of Thunder Cats! They started that yesterday, character creation was fairly intense, hehe.

Wow, the equipment list is crazy long, I forgot about that, but I think I only have to convert the weapons. There is a disparity there. Of course if you get hit with a laser in Star Frontiers you stand a good chance of living through it if you're not a warrior type. You could probably survive two hits if you're a warrior type no problem. I'll think of something. Like 1D10 = 1D4, 2D10 = 1D6, 3D10 = 1D8, etc. The character build was not too difficult even if you wanted to be one of the other three races - Dralasite, Yazirian, or Vrusk. You just make the same adjustments for race (convert 5% increments to 1 point of attribute) the and use the average height and weight for calculating SIZ as published in Alpha Dawn Advanced. Btw, if you're an old hand at sci fi games, you probably already know that Star Frontiers is available for free download legally and that there is still a lively and active community. I alternated between D&D and Star Frontiers back in the eighties. The site below also publishes a magazine chock full of sci fi ideas, not just for star frontiers. Star Frontiers

I was looking at what it might take to port star frontiers over to M-Space. It looks like the average character stats fall into the 75 to 85 range. Some are a little over and some a little under but for the most part, using a points buy system for stats, it looks like a very simple conversion. I don't see why M-Space can't give some of my old Star Frontiers material new life. Has anyone done this yet? M-Space has all you need to run just about any sci fi campaign, so I figured "wouldn't it be cool if..." and instantly thought of a Sathar invasion all over again! Although I'll have to take a closer look at both systems (albedo screens? energy units?) to see where there might be issues.

Nice illustrations! Are you thinking about including sentient aliens? Space unicorns? Ok maybe not space unicorns lol!

I see. It makes sense to do it that way Clarence. Instead of making a few opposed rolls, the characters get to do a little more interaction with the NPCs and interpreting the rolled results into roleplay. In the past, I've seen people just roleplay this out, but I always felt it was not good to just let players roleplay that out. I'll use D&D for instance. If you had a high Cha and some decent social skills you could just rp the scene and talk your way out of it, with very little chance for failure. On the other end, I've seen people "rp" a scene and come out on top simply because the player was a good orator and the DM was easily intimidated, not because of the numbers on the character sheet. Sometimes the outcomes were vastly different from what they probably should have been. Your method, and some others, allows some interplay between the statistics and makes more sense to me. It also trims the intimidation factor down a bit. Thanks for the illustration above. So then my question would be: If I am going to move to this style of conflict resolution, how easy is it to set up "in game"? I could see setting up Farhan, Jawad and Naisha with appropriate stats ahead of time, yet it might slow down if I had to come up with stats on the spot until I got used to it.

I was looking at different ways of handling social conflict using Mythras Imperative. I ran into some interesting elements and perhaps you might have some opinions on how you would handle it or change the way to run it. So Here is what I did: Djesmiri Prince Farhan He is the seventh son of a seventh son, though strange magics have kept this obvious fact hidden for now. He is not the crown prince. He is 19 years old, is a military officer and has seen battle at least three times. There are forces at work, both good and evil, trying to locate him for there own purposes. He is an important figure. This night he has been charged with standing Officer of the Watch and plans to personally inspect the night shift. He is in the full regalia of his cavalry unit, battle ready weapons instead of ceremonial ones. CHA 13, POW 12, Influence 40, Willpower 35, Oratory 55, Politics 60. Loyalty to Royal Family 65 (5th=13). Master At Arms Jawad Jawad is a battle hardened soldier, 27 years old, who has dedicated his life to the Royal Family and to Djesmir. He accompanies Prince Farhan on this night more as a body guard, even though he and the prince are close friends. He is dressed in dessert fashion, his weapons are hidden and he is barely a whisper as he walks alongside the Prince with his scarf hiding everything but his eyes. CHA 10, POW 14, Influence 55, Willpower 65, Loyalty to the Royal Family 75 (5th=15) Naisha Naisha is a beautiful young lady, 23 years old, who is an acolyte in a secret female cult of Yegusai Shamans known as the Void Seekers. She is in Djesmir to find the Characters and cause trouble for them anyway she can. The Circle of Three have foreseen the PCs as a threat to their plans to find the 7th son and so want to get rid of them. Naisha is ambitious and will do almost anything to prove herself to the leaders of the cult. She has taken the role of a peasant girl on her way to the well. CHA 14, POW 15, Deceit 45, Influence 55, Willpower 50, Seduction 53, Loyalty to the Void Seekers 70 (5th=14) The Situation The Characters are in Djesmir. They are there to investigate a rumor for a mysterious client. They've been directed to search specific private libraries on the genealogies of specific persons - the royal line. Of course this must be done with secrecy. Naisha has spotted and trailed them. The streets are quiet since it is on the cusp of Sabatine and Plashkis when the autumn festival begins again. She waits for them outside of one of the smaller residences pretending to gather water from a nearby well. She sees the night watch is on patrol as it is near sundown, she is unaware of Prince Farhan and Jawad. The Characters finally exit the gate of the residence and Naisha sees her opportunity. She shouts, "Murder! Murder! Help Me!" Of course this draws the night watch, two guards on duty, Prince Farhan, and Jawad. The characters are confused as the guards see Naisha pointing at the Characters and screaming in terror. The Prince has the characters detained and begins to question Naisha who accuses the Characters of kidnapping her family in the desert and that's why she lives, hand to mouth, in the street without a family and a home. None of this is true. It's at this point that I started to make influence rolls for the interaction between the PCs and the NPCs. I set the threshold to best of 7. The characters want to settle the situation and avoid trouble, while Naisha wants to have them thrown in jail. The Prince obviously wants to look important and he can't avoid taking small glances down Naisha's blouse (this is intentional on her part to draw him into her trust, however, she doesn't necessarily know that he is Prince Farhan or that Jawad is the Royal Master at Arms.) Any thoughts on how to run this using Mythras Imperative? I used the 5th of the passions base characteristic as a bonus to the die roll and I also added the status and regalia of the prince as additional modifiers. I also added a modifier for Jawad advising the Prince in hushed tones.

Sweet! Sounds like a great setting!

Well, it doesn't make backstory less important. I consider the players and the characters they play. How much of this should they really know? Will it set up issues with metagaming? I might need all the backstory in order to produce more material or to guide a story to it's rightful end. Perhaps there are personas in the story that will appear later, in that case I need the backstory to help me figure out when to bring them in and why they are there. Players and especially their characters do not need that part of the back story. I normally give the players just enough information that gets the story started. That being said, keep your established backstory and my advice is select a few juicy bits to throw on their plate and work on an amazing opening scenario, leaving a framework to be filled in as you go in order to make modifications as necessary.

I think if you put it to people in that long, almost polemic, verse, it could be a little confusing. I say keep it simple. Like a pamphlet, or a fortune cookie. Just write it so it's easily understood...I kind of like the idea of wacko religious organizations. I mean, most back story never gets read, except by the GM, and so I keep it simple and short in order to move on to the game itself.

Ah I see, so the Jairellites are fighting a secret battle against the forces of the devourer. The ebb and flow of energy is a sign of the war over existence....unless I confused the entire thing.